Page 151 - THE JUNGLE BOOK

The Jungle Book

It is the hardest thing in the world to frighten a
mongoose, because he is eaten up from nose to tail with
curiosity. The motto of all the mongoose family is ‘Run
and find out,’ and Rikki-tikki was a true mongoose. He

looked at the cotton wool, decided that it was not good to
eat, ran all round the table, sat up and put his fur in order,
scratched himself, and jumped on the small boy’s shoulder.
‘Don’t be frightened, Teddy,’ said his father. ‘That’s his
way of making friends.’
‘Ouch! He’s tickling under my chin,’ said Teddy.
Rikki-tikki looked down between the boy’s collar and
neck, snuffed at his ear, and climbed down to the floor,
where he sat rubbing his nose.
‘Good gracious,’ said Teddy’s mother, ‘and that’s a wild
creature! I suppose he’s so tame because we’ve been kind
to him.’
‘All mongooses are like that,’ said her husband. ‘If
Teddy doesn’t pick him up by the tail, or try to put him
in a cage, he’ll run in and out of the house all day long.
Let’s give him something to eat.’
They gave him a little piece of raw meat. Rikki-tikki
liked it immensely, and when it was finished he went out
into the veranda and sat in the sunshine and fluffed up his
fur to make it dry to the roots. Then he felt better.

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